“Ah, see?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I told you I could spin any story to make it interesting.”
“Actually –“
Before she could point out that he actually hadn’t said that at all, he interrupted her.
“I’ll tell you what I know about Alec if you tell me why you’re here and why you’re pretending not to know Aaron,” he said. “What happened between the two of you? When he finds out –“
“What happened between us is none of his business,” Noah snapped. This, again, probably wasn’t the smartest thing she could have done only because Pat was going to run to Aaron and tell him everything. How could he not? He was a journalist, after all, and whether Noah wanted to admit it or not, a decent one. “And it’s none of yours.” She flicked her eyes back to the ice, back to Alec. She felt herself calm down, just taking in Alec, even when he caught her looking at him and shot her a What are you looking at face. She’d take that over a smile from Aaron any day. Not that she was trying to compare the two. “Tell me or don’t tell me. I don’t care.”
There was silence on the other end. Noah wasn’t sure whether she wanted to risk looking over at Pat or not. Part of her didn’t because she didn’t want to show she was interested in his story, especially after her little speech. However, if there was a chance to relax, she would enjoy not being on pins and needles for the duration of her time spent outside Lily’s apartment.
“Well, Hanson wants him to focus on his game,” Pat said, as though it was obvious. “The season is gearing up to start in October, which is in a couple of weeks, and she can’t have one of her best players thinking with his other head.” He chuckled, as though this was some big joke.
Noah shot him a look. He couldn’t possibly think she found his little double engenders amusing, could he?
“I get it,” she said, not bothering to hide her tone. “But this is professional sports, isn’t it? It’s not uncommon for players – especially the single ones – to sleep around. Does it really affect his game?”
“It’s not that it doesn’t happen, but Hanson tends to run a tight ship,” Pat said. “Especially since the Gulls won the Stanley Cup last year. She doesn’t really get into their business unless it starts to affect their play. With Jack Ruby, it definitely did. His anger was getting in the way of his play. He’d be in the sin bin for five-minutes, sometimes he’d get a game misconduct and get kicked out completely. We can’t win games if one of our best scorers is in the penalty box. We can’t win if said scorer damages his hands in a fight. But over the summer, Ruby got his head out of his ass and figured it out. Now, it seems Sinclair decided he would be the troubled step child, but instead of fighting, the kid is partying, staying up late, drinking, missing practice, fucking anyone with legs. He’s one of the best faceoff centermen in the league, and he’s barely at a thirty percent at the end of last season.” Pat crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Pathetic.”
Noah tried to keep up with everything Zummo was telling her. She didn’t particularly enjoy having these sorts of conversations, especially with him, but it was better than talking about Aaron. Anything was.
“Alec never misses practice, and you know this,” Noah said. She didn’t know much about Alec, but that was something she remembered.
A whistle sounded and Noah glanced up. The coach gathered them on the bench to chat. Zummo shifted his weight next to her.
“Looks like Grady is wrapping it up,” he said, shaking his head.
“Well, Sinclair looked good today, didn’t he?” Noah asked. She probably shouldn’t. She didn’t care what Pat thought about Alec, but there was something inside of her that wanted to defend him, though she wasn’t sure why.
“The fact that he was even here today is lightyears better than what it’s been,” Zummo said, dismissing her claim. “How he practiced?” He lifted a shoulder. “He could have been better. I’ve seen him better. But that’s beside the point. We talked about hockey. I want to put that aside now. Tell me about you and Aaron.”
Noah blinked. Shit. How was he able to catch her in a trap? She should have made an excuse about her period, then hid out in the women’s restroom for the duration of practice. She doubted Pat would follow her into the bathroom. He couldn’t be that desperate for information.
“Fuck, Noah, you actually waited for me?”
Noah heard Alec’s voice down the hall, and even though she couldn’t see him from where she stood, clearly, he could see her.
“You know Alec Sinclair?” Pat asked from beside me. “How the hell do you know Alec Sinclair? Does Aaron know you know Alec Sinclair?”
Noah clenched her teeth together. She was sick of Pat Zummo and his know-it-all attitude and she was sick of having to feel scared any time Aaron was brought up. Alec came into view, getting closer to her and Pat. Maybe that was what gave her more confidence than she typically had.
“Alec Sinclair is my boyfriend.”
7
Alec
“Um, what?”
Noah suddenly erupted in fake giggles – Alec knew they were fake because when Noah actually laughed, her entire face lit up and it was difficult not to stare at her. Instead, she sounded like a banshee that just got hit by a car and was breathing its last few breaths. He wrinkled his nose, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with her. Who was this asshole and why was she acting so completely not like herself? Noah was a lot of things, but fake wasn’t one of them. She
